Joker

JOKER
2019 | Dir. Todd Phillips | 122 Minutes

"You just ask the same questions every week. 'How's your job?' 'Are you having any negative thoughts?' All I have are negative thoughts."

During a contentious Gotham City garbage strike in 1981, mentally ill aspiring stand-up comedian Arthur Fleck works as a clown for hire. One fateful day, Fleck loses his job and is subsequently harassed and beaten by three young businessmen on a subway train. Fleck murders the trio and flees the scene. As the resulting media coverage of the incident inadvertently galvanizes Gotham's disenfranchised, Fleck begins to suspect his absent father may be billionaire mayoral candidate Thomas Wayne.

Todd Phillips' Joker is an engaging, casually nihilistic, performance-driven character study that touches upon themes surrounding mental health and class warfare but ultimately fails to make a coherent statement. Centered on the struggles of a disturbed individual amidst a city on the brink of societal collapse, the picture presents a rather shallow story of a man coming to terms and embracing his madness while unintentionally jump starting a revolution. However, despite lacking depth, the film is presented with an abundance of style, adapted from intellectual property already ingrained in the collective pop culture consciousness, and benefiting immensely from an indisputably masterful performance delivered by its indispensable lead actor.

Though Joker utilizes a handful of characters from DC Comics, it best functions as a stand-alone work, owing more to Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver than anything in established comic book canon. For longtime fans of Batman's quintessential nemesis, the story of Arthur Fleck subverts expectations in fascinating ways, often making more interesting narrative choices than obvious ones. The plot twists are inconsistent in quality, but the way the character is portrayed invariably remains faithful to what his iconic comic book counterpart represents: a manifestation of senseless illogical violence and chaos.

Joaquin Phoenix brings to life the troublingly broken clown with terrifying dedication to the role. His gangly, nearly skeletal physical appearance is truly disturbing. His delivery of Fleck's involuntarily fits of laughter is sad and chilling. Phoenix manages to make it easy to empathize with this pitiful man as he transforms into a deranged remorseless murderer.

The film also features standout performances from Frances Conroy as Fleck's delusional mother, Zazie Beetz in a rather thankless role as Fleck's neighbor and object of his affection, Robert De Niro as beloved mean-spirited talk show host Murray Franklin, and Brett Cullen playing a despicable version of the doomed Thomas Wayne. Glenn Fleshler, Leigh Gill, Bill Camp, Shea Whigham, Brian Tyree Henry, and Marc Maron also appear in minor but memorable parts.

Profoundly upsetting, deeply uncomfortable, but engrossing through and through, Joker is a complete showcase of Joaquin Phoenix's seemingly unlimited talent. His performance is so exceptionally mesmerizing that it may be easy to overlook some of the picture's glaring flaws. While the film offers a grounded, horrifically unhinged, and uniquely captivating take on the classic Batman villain, it doesn't have anything meaningful to say about the societal issues exploited by its narrative.


FRAGMENTS

- Martin Scorcese was initially attached to the picture as a producer but left the project to commit his undivided attention to The Irishman

- Robert De Niro also appears in 2020 Best Picture Nominee The Irishman

- Frances Conroy previously appeared in another film loosely adapted from a Batman villain, 2004's critically panned Catwoman starring Halle Berry

- The scene in which Fleck walks into the refrigerator and closes the door was unscripted, completely improvised by Joaquin Phoenix

- It's rather delightful to see Marc Maron play a crotchety talk show producer

- After countless depictions across seemingly all media, I was hoping against hope that the film would not revisit the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne, but the way the sequence is handled honestly works

MCU CONNECTIONS

- Brian Tyree Henry (Phastos in Eternals)

Jojo Rabbit

JOJO RABBIT
2019 | Dir. Taika Waititi | 108 Minutes

"You're not a Nazi, Jojo. You're a ten year-old kid who likes dressing up in a funny uniform and wants to be part of a club, but you are not one of them."

In the final days of World War II, an insecure Hitler Youth member named Jojo is bullied by other Nazi boys but receives constant reassurance from his imaginary friend Adolf. Jojo's world is turned upside down when he discovers his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic.

Featuring bright and colorful sets and costumes, and German versions of anachronistic pop songs permeating its soundtrack, Jojo Rabbit is as broad and funny as director Taika Waititi's supporting performance in the role of the off-the-wall imaginary Adolf. The way the illusory dictator plants both silly and hateful ideas in the young Jojo's head encapsulates Waititi's view on the absurd and childish nature of fascist rhetoric. However, the social commentary perhaps doesn't quite cut deep enough.

Jojo Rabbit works best as a delightfully off-beat coming-of-age story, less effectively as satire. It's a great story, Jojo's adorable reluctant adolescent crush on his new housemate and his love for his progressive free-thinking mother drive him away from fascism. However, it may be slightly naive to suggest love will always conquer ignorance and senseless hatred. The sentiment is more difficult to accept when the film doesn't afford nearly as much character depth to the mindless adult sycophants surrounding Jojo. The one exception comes in the form of the jaded Captain Klenzendorf, so disillusioned with the war that he seems to have retained his moral compass in a slightly vague way.

The decidedly grimmer, more dramatic, less comedic second half of Jojo Rabbit is significantly stronger. Waititi's talent for ramping up emotionally resonant moments after establishing his characters through comedy bolsters the impact of the picture's most heartbreaking scenes, elevating the film and imbuing it with a unique tone. Jojo's maturation into a conscientious person is accelerated by tragedy, and his struggle to be less selfish and more empathetic is the most authentic aspect of the narrative.

As Jojo, Roman Griffin Davis is extraordinarily impressive, showing genuine spirit in the role while keeping pace with Waititi's wacky Adolf and playing exceptionally well against Scarlett Johansson who turns in a radiant and delightful performance as Jojo's headstrong and ever-optimistic mother Rosie. While Waititi's Adolf represents the proverbial devil on Jojo's shoulders - one that feasts on unicorn - Johansson's Rosie is very much the angel at war with their dangerous influences that are poisoning her son's world view. Thomasin McKenzie exudes a weariness beyond her years as the tough and feisty Elsa. Sam Rockwell stands out as the weary Klenzendorf, some of his more amusing scenes hint at an off-screen romance between the captain and his second-in-command Finkel played by a gleeful Alfie Allen. The film also features hilarious performances from Rebel Wilson as blunt Hitler Youth instructor Fräulein Rahm and Stephen Merchant jovial Gestapo Agent Deertz while Archie Yates steals every one of his scenes as Jojo's innocent best friend Yorki.

Jojo Rabbit is a sweet and moving film even if its central premise of pure love being the key to weather hate and ignorance is generally over-simplistic. While its sense of satirical humor is a little too precious, the picture is at its strongest during its tensest and most emotionally powerful moments, presenting a heartfelt story about children growing up in troubling times.


FRAGMENTS
- The film is adapted from Christine Leunens's 2004 novel Caging Skies

- Scarlett Johansson also appears in 2020 Best Picture Nominee Marriage Story, nominated for Best Actress for her performance in that film


MCU CONNECTIONS
- Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff in Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, and Black Widow)

- Sam Rockwell (Justin Hammer in Iron Man 2)

- Taika Waititi (Korg in Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Endgame, and Thor: Love and Thunder)

The Irishman

THE IRISHMAN
2019 | Dir. Martin Scorsese | 209 Minutes

"You got a good friend here. You don't know how good a friend you got."

Truck driver Frank Sheeran becomes a hitman after he befriends mobster Russell Bufalino and eventually serves as right-hand man and confidant to brazen union leader Jimmy Hoffa. Sheeran's loyalties are tested when Hoffa falls out of favor with the mob.

Adapted from I Heard You Paint Houses, former investigator Charles Brandt's non-fiction chronicle of Frank Sheeran's life, Martin Scorsese's The Irishman is an intimate examination of a career criminal's life unfolding on an epic scale. Despite its considerable length, every minute of the picture is thoroughly engaging, delving into five decades of American history through the eyes of a killer for hire who allegedly played a part in the Bay of Pigs Invasion and pulled the trigger on Jimmy Hoffa. The picture spends as much time as needed to meticulously explore and demystify Sheeran's vicious work for the mob, to give layers of genuine nuance and texture to his respective friendships with Bufalino and Hoffa, and to unpack his thought process and his eventual existential anguish.

Scorsese presents the cold narrative of The Irishman with a resonant bluntness that is often darkly humorous. The film illustrates in a myriad of ways the relatively simple notion that crime ultimately does not pay, that no matter how powerful or organized they may be, criminals only ever meet violent or unceremonious ends. This is depicted most directly and hilariously in the freeze-frame captions describing the respective bloody deaths of various mobsters. The central principal of the picture plays out in long form for Hoffa, Bufalino, and Sheeran. Hoffa's mob connections pave the way for him to become the most powerful Teamster ever, but the same connections lead to his downfall when he runs afoul of their plans and adamantly refuses to back down. Bufalino runs his criminal operations with carefully measured intimidation and violence, but his illicit activities eventually land him in prison stripping him of all dignity in his twilight years. Though Sheeran consistently does as he is told and remains ever loyal to his mob allies, despite his best efforts to defuse the situation he has no choice but to murder one of his closest friends and forever destroy his relationship with his perceptive daughter Peggy - fully aware of his terrible actions, willfully distant, and eventually completely estranged from her father - leaving Sheeran with no one to care for him in the end.

While the digital de-aging implemented on Hollywood legends Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino isn't always perfect, it's never distracting. All three turn in some of the best work of their celebrated careers. De Niro's Sheeran is amusing and convincingly melancholic, skillfully portraying the extremely difficult role of a deeply conflicted, emotionally repressed man of violence. As Bufalino, Pesci is masterfully subtle and understated, in stark contrast to his standard acting style, believably portraying a man who knows the inevitability of the business but is driven by duty nevertheless. Conversely, Pacino as the prideful and ambitious Hoffa is full of restless energy but manages to stop just short of over-the-top, delivering his greatest and most controlled performance in years. The supporting cast notably features Bobby Cannavale as Felix "Skinny Razor" Ditullio, Ray Romano as Bill Bufalino, Harvey Keitel as mob boss Angelo Bruno, Stephen Graham as Tony Provenzano, Sebastian Maniscalco as "Crazy" Joe Gallo, Jesse Plemons as Chuckie O'Brien, and Anna Paquin and Peggy Sheeran.

The Irishman is an extensive meditation on loyalty, ego, regret, and mortality that is captivating all the way through. Alternately grim and funny, sentimental but unflatteringly candid, it is arguably the most complete mob picture in Martin Scorsese's accomplished filmography, simultaneously honoring and deconstructing the genre.


FRAGMENTS
- The factual nature of narrative of the film as it is adapted from Charles Brandt's book I Heard You Paint Houses has been widely disputed

- Robert De Niro also appears in 2020 Best Picture Nominee Joker

- Al Pacino also appears in 2020 Best Picture Nominee Once Upon a Time in Hollywood


SUPPLEMENTAL STUFF
- Podcast: Behind The Irishman


MCU CONNECTIONS
- Bobby Cannavale (Jim Paxton in Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp)

Ford v Ferrari

FORD V FERRARI
2019 | Dir. James Mangold | 152 Minutes

"We're lighter, we're faster. And if that don't work, we're nastier."

In 1963, the Ford Motor Company attempts to purchase luxury Italian auto maker Ferrari aiming to reinvigorate their brand. Ferrari blatantly insults Ford and uses the negotiations to leverage a better deal with another manufacturer. Desperate to upstage Ferrari, Ford assembles a team led by brilliant car designer Carroll Shelby to beat Ferrari's accomplished racing team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France. Shelby enlists the help of talented ill-tempered driver Ken Miles who refuses to bend to the will of Ford executives.

Based on the real life exploits of Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles, Ford v Ferrari is first and foremost a thrilling car movie featuring spectacularly staged racing sequences that are so authentic they stop just short of placing the audience behind the wheel. While the film depicts Carroll Shelby as a true visionary and all-around stand up guy, the story focuses primarily on Ken Miles, building much of his character around his relationships with Shelby, Miles' wife Mollie, and their son Peter. Director James Mangold does a fantastic job of making Miles' triumphs and failures behind the wheel feel deeply personal. Riding beside Miles on his quest for the perfect lap, it's absolutely exhilarating whenever he passes the competition on the racetrack and it's just as mortifying in moments when he loses control of his vehicle. The physical intensity of sitting inside a race car is amusingly depicted in one sequence where Shelby drives on the test track with Henry Ford II riding along in the passenger seat, reducing the pompous CEO to tears. The picture also spends a significant amount of time detailing the nitty-gritty process of crafting a race car but it manages to remain engaging throughout, a testament to Mangold's talent as a director.

In a fascinating way, Ford v Ferrari also functions as a sincere treatise against the petty corporate egos at play in the world of racing and, by extension, in any profitable artistic line of work. Though the Shelby and Miles are financed by Ford, the corporate stooges are decidedly not portrayed as heroes in any way shape or form, and in fact serve more as antagonists than even the Ferrari racing team. With more depth than it would seem, the picture is a captivating watch through and through. Where the film falls short is in its inconsistent depiction of Mollie, alternating between unconditionally supportive of her husband's dreams and stubborn shrew, serving more as a superfluous addition to the plot than an actual character.

Matt Damon is a natural fit as the shrewd car designer Carroll Shelby but Christian Bale truly steals the film as racer/engineer Ken Miles. Playing charismatic difficult men is practically second nature to Bale and though it he may not be at his flashiest playing Miles, he brings a fun and affecting earnestness to the role. Caitriona Balfe turns in a fine performance as Mollie despite the script-level shortcomings of the role. The rest of the supporting roles are perfectly filled by Noah Jupe as young wide-eyed Peter Miles, Tracy Letts as curmudgeon Henry Ford II, Jon Bernthal as outspoken Ford vice president Lee Iacocca, and Josh Lucas as an amalgamation of seemingly every terrible corporate executive ever.

Ford v Ferrari is an extraordinarily entertaining crowd-pleaser, an inspirational sports film that should prove to be appealing even for those completely unfamiliar with the intricacies of motorsports. The visceral mind-blowing racing sequences are naturally the real highlight of the feature but the surprisingly anti-corporate human story at its heart is also rather affecting.


FRAGMENTS
- The film was released as Le Mans '66 outside of North America

- Formerly titled Go Like Hell with Joseph Kosinski attached to direct, Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt were considered for the roles of Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles

- To portray the lean Miles, within seven months Christian Bale lost 70 pounds, much of the weight he gained to play Dick Cheney in Vice

- Tracey Letts also appears in 2020 Best Picture Nominee Little Women


MCU CONNECTIONS
- Matt Damon (Asgardian Actor playing Loki in Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder)

- Christian Bale (Gorr in Thor: Love and Thunder)

 

- Jon Bernthal (Frank Castle in Spider-Man: Brand New Day) 

The 92nd Academy Awards

My ranking of the Best Picture Oscar contenders of 2020:

1. Parasite *
2. 1917
3. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
4. Little Women
5. The Irishman

6. Joker

7. Jojo Rabbit
8. Marriage Story
9. Ford v Ferrari

* Actual Winner